They were humans with large space-based habitats, mining across the solar system. There was a single chapter from POV of living rocks. What fascinated me was the description of their "biological " cycles- how they did have things like a pulse, but that they operated on such slow cycles that humans cannot detect them. Them were dumbfounded (odd word for the county, I know) by our hasty, gladly lives. I would say post-1985. Does that sound familiar to anyone?
Edit: thanks folks, we have a winner (and I have a reread)- Benford and Brin, Heart of The Comet. Than you all!
Maybe “Heart of the Comet” by Gregory Benford?
That's funny you say that, I was trying to resolve another memory - the idea of a comet turned into a spaceship ad hoc because of an infection, and that WAS Heart of the Comet! Maybe it's a twofer? Going to reread that, thanks! Amazing, this has to be it
I've got heart of the comment on my shelf and I can confirm there are no sentient rocks.
Oh well, one out of two- still worth a reread :-)
That sounds like a subplot of one of Ken MacLeod's space operas, possibly Cosmonaut Keep? (But Heart of the Comet is also a strong possibility.)
You know, I've had so many good experiences on Reddit. It's just about my only social media these days
If you're interested in something like this but the other way around, Dragon's Egg by Robert L. Forward features an alien species that evolved on a neutron star - they're teeny tiny and experience time on a ridiculously fast scale, to the point where they have several civilizations rise and fall in the time it takes for the human ship in orbit to finish a laser surface scan.
I'll add that to my list, thanks!
I love Dragon's Egg!
How certain are you on the details?
Because your description sounds like a mash up of Between the Strokes of Night by Charles Sheffield and The Quiet War by Paul McAuley.
Living rocks sounds cool. Piggybacking offa this, does anyone know any other books with this idea?
As mentioned below, Ken MacLeod's Cosmonaut Keep trilogy has most asteroids inhabited by crystalline entities.
Roger Zelazny wrote a story like that, but it's set on a planet, not in space. And much older.
Roger Zelazny's The Great Slow Kings? An alien species has a drastically slower perception of time and longer lifespan than humanity, meaning humanity mistook them and their entire civilization for inanimate statues and they barely notice the blurred motion before we nuked ourselves into extinction.
Also has an unofficial spiritual adaptation animation here.
Nice! Thanks
"Star Maker" by Olaf Stapledon?
But that was in the 30's, so probably not.
I recall a sci-fi story that was from the perspective of some sentient asteroids, where one dips to close into the sun and comes back, regarded as insane by the rest of the asteroids, because said rock talks about the scientific method such. Contact is then later established by humans in spaceships.
It was a newer story though, published in the last ~15 years.